s and state-of-the-art production systems, the French manufacturer of retail brands, Europe Snacks, is writing a success story in a highly competitive market. In France, this company based in Saint-Denis-La-Chevasse is the undisputed market leader with its stackable chips. These fried snacks taste good to consumers and are packaged in recyclable cans. Good for consumers, good for the environment, and good for business.The city of Saint-Denis-La-Chevasse is located in the Vendée department, in the west of France, in the Pays de La Loire region. The Atlantic Ocean is not far away, the clouds roll in thick, and people who knuckle down and work hard live in this flat, green country. This is where Europe Snacks has its headquarters. "We manufacture various kinds of baked and fried snacks. Our special strengths are stackable chips packaged in cardboard cans, which are increasingly popular in France and other countries", explains Jean-Louis Roger, Industrial Director Europe Snacks, who is responsible for the company's four production locations. Europe Snacks was established in 1990 and initially produced fried snacks, then also baked goods in a second plant. In 1999, a second production location for fried snacks was added, and in 2002 the company added another plant for producing stackable chips packaged in cans. Jean-Louis Roger explains why this is during a tour of production: "In France, only the international brand Pringles was present on the market. There was absolutely no manufacturer of high-quality retail brands. "Europe Snacks took over this market with standard products and with the development of new, innovative products in the stackable chips sector. During the manufacturing process, a dough made of potato flakes is prepared and rolled out precisely to the millimetre on broad lines. The stackable chips are punched out of these dough lines and transported on conveyor belts to the fryer. After frying, the chips are seasoned and turned. Then the stackable chips reach the infeed belts of the packaging system. There they cool off, then they are weighed and packaged in cans.
"Give-away" of 10 to 15 percent per can
Europe Snacks' success with stackable chips was so great that the company set up a second production line for the manufacture of stackable chips in cans in 2006. "At that time, we were packaging the stackable chips in tubular bags and then pushing them into the cans", says Jean-Louis Roger, who greets every employee and exchanges a few personal words with each one during the tour of production. In order to optimise the packaging effort, Europe Snacks sought a supplier of cans that could be filled with stackable chips without pre-packaging. Management found one and retooled production for the filling of the new cans with metal bottoms and plastic lids. "However the packaging system that we were using starting in 2008 had a significant weak point", argues Roger. Packaging was by volume and not by exact weight. "The consequence of this was that thanks to generous packaging by volume in production, we were overfilling the packages and thus giving away a lot of product", says Jean-Louis Roger. In a nutshell: the cans, regardless of their size, always contained significantly more product than indicated on the label. Roger: "Just to give you an idea: I'm talking about an average overfilling of 10 to 15 percent per can". Europe Snacks' management was also confronted with another challenge in production: breakage. "With respect to product quantity, we simply had too much breakage in the packaging, and therefore product loss. This was not acceptable", emphasises Jean-Louis Roger. The Industrial Director reminds us that in the food industry, especially with retail brands, calculation is done "with a sharp pencil", that is, very precisely.
Packaging by weight minimises product loss
What was required was a technical solution that could guarantee slight overfilling and gentle handling of products. "In 2009 we started talking to Philippe Mavic, Commercial Manager France for Hastamat. He presented us with Hastamat's innovative packaging solution for stackable chips", recalls Jean-Louis Roger. Hastamat, based in Lahnau, Germany, is a subsidiary of the Piepenbrock Corporate Group, a family-managed corporate group with a tradition stretching back over 100 years. Hastamat develops and produces high-quality packaging machines and systems custom-tailored to suit individual customers' needs. This specialised machine builder stands for innovative, flexible, economical and sustainable system designs. And for service available worldwide. Hastamat offers comprehensive solutions across the entire life cycle of the system – from the idea to engineering, construction and commissioning, on through to training and spare parts supply.
Modular design of the packaging system
"Technically, the clear structure of Hastamat's packaging system, its modular design, user-friendliness and its obviously gentle handling of products fascinated me from the first presentation", recalls Jean-Louis Roger. The low personnel requirements for operation of the system and low maintenance costs also promised lower production costs per kilo of packaged goods. Decisive for Europe Snacks' purchasing decision was that the Hastamat packaging system did not package by volume, but by weight.
Potato chips are a living product that depends within a certain tolerance range on the changing characteristics of natural products. During the harvest season, there is often a range of product qualities, from early potatoes to late potatoes. These qualities affect the volume and weight of the stackable chips. The operating team must count on these natural fluctuations and the production lines must be designed for the flexible processing of natural raw materials. Exact weighing to within 1.5 to 2 g with the Hastamat packaging system allows filling the cans of different sizes precisely with plus, minus one potato chip – maximum two potato chips. "Thanks to packaging by weight, product loss was reduced sharply", summarises Jean-Louis Roger. From a business point of view it was easy to calculate how long it would take for the purchase of the Hastamat packaging system to pay off.
Highly-efficient use of personnel
Europe Snacks ordered the first production line with 16 lanes from Hastamat in 2010. It was designed to package 500 kilograms per hour and today packages 600 kilograms per hour. "Thus we have exceeded our own expectations and the customer is more than satisfied with the great reliability of the entire system", says Philippe Mavic. Just six months later, Europe Snacks ordered a second production line from Hastamat with 18 lanes; and just one year later, a third production line with 24 lanes. It processes up to one ton of stackable chips each hour. Generally during regular operation, only three employees work on the largest production line with 24 lanes. Jean-Louis Roger: "This is how we produce at maximum capacity with highly-efficient use of personnel". After these positive experiences, the fourth production line with 24 lanes was also ordered from Hastamat; it was put into production in April 2014.
Recyclable packaging and innovative products
Europe Snacks is innovative not just in production, but also in product development. Consumer panels in France show that the majority of consumers prefer Europe Snacks' chips when it comes to the taste and consistency of branded goods. Since 2010, the company has been packaging its stackable chips in different flavours in packaging that is up to 98% recyclable. This is worth mentioning because up to now, the leading brand manufacturer has put little ecologically-friendly packaging on the market. "We wanted to use our initiative to make our products more environmentally-friendly and sustainable in order to be more attractive to our partners in trade and to consumers. This is why we were seeking a manufacturer who can provide recyclable cans by the box", explains Jean-Louis Roger, who seems like a manager who knows exactly what he wants. Success! Today the stackable chips in Europe Snacks' patented, recyclable cardboard can are a true competitor on the French market. Jean-Louis Roger: "When we presented the innovative packaging to our trade partners, the reaction was outstanding". The look and size of the cans is similar to what people are used to, and they are much better from an ecological standpoint. Due to the weight saving in the cans, the investment in this new ecologically friendly can was possible.
Integration of the packaging system into the production lines
The adaptation of the Hastamat packaging system to the new, environmentally-friendly can type was no problem. "Generally it is very easy to integrate Hastamat packaging machines into our production lines", explains Jean-Louis Roger, returning to Hastamat's technical expertise: "We have our own subsidiary that develops and designs technical innovations for our production processes. Therefore we are sensitive to technical questions". Over the years of cooperation, it has become clear that Hastamat works well with Europe Snacks and continues to enhance the packaging systems according to the customer's needs. "Today, when I compare the first machine to the fourth, I see significant improvements that have a direct impact on our production process", says Jean-Louis Roger: "Hastamat's employees understand our concerns, they listen to us, and work with our technicians to create precisely the solutions that we really need. That's a wonderful thing".
Hastamat provides outstanding service in everyday production
In the course of daily cooperation, it emerges that Hastamat is a subsidiary of the Piepenbrock Corporate Group of Osnabrück and that it places great value on service. "Our technical contact person Michael Meisel is a very good example. He thinks his way into customers' problems and provides outstanding service. This is very important in both Development and Support", according to Jean-Louis Roger. At Europe Snacks, in-house maintenance is well-trained and handles all the routine work. If there are severe breakdowns, Europe Snacks' technicians can turn to their contacts at Hastamat at any time. Via the Internet and the service telephone, they are in a position to help very quickly. "If there are mechanical breakdowns, we profit from the modular design of the packaging systems", according to the experience of Jean-Louis Roger. If one module fails, the system continues to produce with the remaining modules and production lines and the production lines as such go on. Europe Snacks keeps parts that are subject to wear on hand as spare parts.
Good outlook in France and on new markets
In addition to the systems for packaging stackable chips, Europe Snacks uses five Hastamat packaging lines consisting of combination weighers and vertical form-, fill- and seal machines for crackers and snacks. Europe Snacks has created a very good position for itself on the French market thanks to its state-of-the-art production and innovative products. With 5000 tons of stackable chips, the company sells more volume than the brand manufacturer Pringles, with 4500 tons. "We are proud of our strong team, our good products and our loyal customers", summarises Jean-Louis Roger, who relies on the training of in-house personnel and likes to give career-changers a chance. And with regard to chance: naturally Jean-Louis Roger and the Europe Snacks development team are interested in new markets, such as England, the Benelux countries, Spain, Italy and Poland: "They may be surprised. We have a lot more ideas".
